Chapter 402: A New Deal and Rumors of Trouble

Yang Jin handed Xia Qing a small box filled with ore. “This rare mineral comes from across the ocean. It’s got the best anti-radiation effect among all the new materials we’ve found so far. You can turn it into a coating for metal surfaces to block radiation.”

Back in the early days of the disaster, a cosmic gamma-ray burst hammered Blue Star, striking two continents across the ocean directly. Nearly every living thing there died, but new materials were also created. So, despite the continents being too irradiated for humans to live there, people still suited up in heavy protective gear to risk their lives exploring and scavenging for treasure.

Xia Qing had no interest in braving high-radiation zones for loot. The radiation level at Hui Three Base wasn’t even that high—she didn’t need extra protection. “Captain Yang, I really don’t need this mineral. My territory isn’t suitable for building special grow rooms or livestock sheds that filter out Devastation Element, so I actually need more Yi Stones. If I could get two extra Yi Stones instead of credits, aside from one set of protective gear, that would be great.”

“Sure.” The Yi Stones were already set aside for Xia Qing, so Yang Jin didn’t bat an eye. He pulled out a second itemized list and handed it over.

“This covers what we worked out for the spinach seeds trade. You owe me credits, so the credits on this card belong to you now. But if you don’t need the credits, you can take goods worth 4,617,894 credits instead—that’s equal to 22.5 Yi Stones. Plus, you can crack one open yourself to check the quality.”

“Sounds good.”

Xia Qing, who had already examined three Yi Stones before, fetched her tools from home with practiced ease. She cracked open a stone, dropped half of it into the protective shell she’d brought for sealing, and used the remaining piece for quality testing. “Eleven meters in diameter. Devastation Element removal rate is over 99%. This is definitely top-grade.”

The black-and-white striations and quality of this Yi Stone were strikingly similar to the ones the Wolf Pack had traded to Xia Qing. Maybe all those stones came from the same mine?

Yang Jin shrugged. “High-grade Yi Stones all look pretty similar. You can’t really judge the source just by the patterning.”

Xia Qing tried to recall the details of the stones that Tang Lu and Fire Phoenix wore, but nothing came to mind. So she simply nodded. “Captain Yang, do you know why Tang Zhengsu and the others are coming tomorrow?”

The evolved refugees from Territory Two will be heading into the Evolved Forest tomorrow. It wouldn’t make sense for Su Feng’s two captains to show up now unless they planned to cause trouble.

“They’re looking for Zhang San and Tang Zhengbo. The only reason Fire Phoenix isn’t coming is because she got caught up with the batch of high-quality spinach seeds I released. Otherwise, she’d be here too. Su Feng and Fire Phoenix have been in talks and already hammered out a partnership—it’s all about cultivating Cordyceps Fungus.”

“They’re too late. Zhang San and I already made an exclusive deal. For the next two years, all the Cordyceps Fungus Territory Seven needs for Devastation Element antidote production will be supplied by the Azure Dragon Squad.” Yang Jin had already decided on the use for the first batch. “Once it’s ready, Third Brother agreed to give ten doses to Azure Dragon Squad. One of those is for you.”

“Thanks, that stuff’s priceless.” Xia Qing wasn’t about to turn down such a deal. “But with the scale we originally planned, we can’t produce enough Cordyceps for Third Brother’s needs, right? Are you thinking of using the pure spring water from Death Sea to expand production?”

She finally stopped calling him ‘sir,’ which made Yang Jin flash a dazzling smile. “Yeah, we’re expanding by a third. Which means you’ll need to dig out every last second-generation spinach seed you have and put them into production.”

“Only a third?” Xia Qing was taken aback.

Yang Jin explained, “Making Cordyceps Fungus requires a rare active enzyme. Third Brother still hasn’t figured out how to mass-produce it, so the antidote output is limited.”

Suddenly, an image of Tang Huai looking smug flashed through Xia Qing’s mind. She nodded.

It looked like Xia Qing might have a clue about the source of that enzyme. Yang Jin acted like he hadn’t noticed and switched the subject to negotiating terms on their Cordyceps collaboration. “Just in case your spring runs dry in January, our first batch will use spring water shipped straight from Death Sea…”

Xia Qing caught on before Yang Jin could finish. “So my contribution goes down, and my share of the profits drops too.”

After working out the new split, Yang Jin pulled two big packs of beef jerky from his backpack. “Luo sent these through someone—Green Lantern beef jerky. One pack for you, one for me. Original flavor and spicy, which do you want?”

Xia Qing’s mouth watered on the spot. “Why don’t we split them both? Half and half?”

“Brilliant idea.”

They dumped the jerky out and squatted down to divvy it up, one strip at a time. When Xia Qing glanced up, she found herself meeting Yang Jin’s wickedly charming smile.

Her brain short-circuited for a second, and all she wanted to do was steal a couple pieces from her stash and toss them into his pile.

But—no way. No matter how good that smile was, it wasn’t happening. Xia Qing quickly stuffed all the jerky into her pockets.

Yang Jin noticed the look in Xia Qing’s eyes just before she snapped out of it. A shiver and a grin swept through him, and he decided to pass along some valuable news.

“Word is, the sunlight during this year’s Devastation Snow will be even scarcer than usual. I’m planning to order a batch of supplemental grow lights from Hui Five Base in advance. Want in?”

Shorter sunlight hours would stunt crops and livestock. Xia Qing’s greenhouse had lights, but not enough—they only reached a third of the place. Odds were, Qi Fu and the others hadn’t thought of it yet.

If anyone could snag high-quality, cheap gear, it was ‘Iron Rooster’ Yang Jin. It’d be foolish not to join in.

After confirming the price and specs, Xia Qing said, “I’ll need sixteen, but I don’t have enough credits. I’ll have to pay in goods. I bet other territories could use some too. Mind asking around the Lords’ channel?”

Yang Jin shook his head. “Just find out quietly how many are needed altogether and let me know by ten tomorrow morning.”

It was already dark, so that meant Xia Qing had to get busy if she wanted everything tallied by the deadline. Once Yang Jin left, she quickly jotted down five notes for her allies and handed them off to Tan Junjie’s Inspection Team as they passed through.

Tan Junjie took the notes with a quiet warning. “Try not to leave your territory tomorrow, and definitely stay away from Hill Fifty. If you absolutely have to go, let us know on the walkie-talkie first.”

Xia Qing nodded. “Got it. Thanks for the heads-up, Captain Tan.”

Tan Junjie shook his head. “I’m the one who should thank you. If you hadn’t helped out, Territory Fifteen’s greenhouse walls wouldn’t have been finished this month.”

With the conversation at this point, Xia Qing was about to seize the chance and ask how much Tan Junjie knew about the Lord of Territory Fourteen. But before she could open her mouth, a dreadful scream ripped through Territory Two.

That was Tang Huai, and it sounded like he was really hurt.

Tan Junjie pushed his walkie-talkie button. “Territory Two, report what’s happening.”